Twelfth

Twelfth can mean:

In mathematics:

Music

See also

Fifth (chord)

In music, the fifth factor of a chord is the note or pitch five scale degrees above the root or tonal center. When the fifth is the bass note, or lowest note, of the expressed chord, the chord is in second inversion  Play .

Conventionally, the fifth is second in importance to the root, with second inversion being the strongest and the fifth perfect in all primary triads (I, IV, V and i, iv, v). In jazz chords and theory however, the fifth is often omitted, or assumed, in preference for the chord quality determining third and chord extensions and additions.

The fifth in a major and minor chord is perfect (G♮ in C). When the fifth of a major chord is raised it is an augmented chord (G♯ in C)  Play . When the fifth of a minor chord is lowered it is a diminished chord (G♭ in C)  Play .

The open fifth and power chord consists of only the root, fifth and their octave doublings.

See also

Sources

Perfect fifth

In music theory, a perfect fifth is the musical interval corresponding to a pair of pitches with a frequency ratio of 3:2, or very nearly so.

In classical music from Western culture, a fifth is the interval from the first to the last of five consecutive notes in a diatonic scale. The perfect fifth (often abbreviated P5) spans seven semitones, while the diminished fifth spans six and the augmented fifth spans eight semitones. For example, the interval from C to G is a perfect fifth, as the note G lies seven semitones above C. Play 

The perfect fifth may be derived from the harmonic series as the interval between the second and third harmonics. In a diatonic scale, the dominant note is a perfect fifth above the tonic note.

The perfect fifth is more consonant, or stable, than any other interval except the unison and the octave. It occurs above the root of all major and minor chords (triads) and their extensions. Until the late 19th century, it was often referred to by one of its Greek names, diapente. Its inversion is the perfect fourth. The octave of the fifth is the twelfth.